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Deadwood: The Complete Third Season

Parting is such sweet mother-%*$&ing, $*$&-sucking, sorrow. Deadwood, one of the most innovative and historically engaging shows in television history has come and gone. Fans are left with but one hope. It might one day appear again briefly in the form of a couple of two hour teleplays. Series creator David Milch promised Deadwood's passionate viewers that this would happen at some point, but the specifics of when remain unclear as of yet despite the occasional rumor about a potential filming date.

Until that day comes, Deadwood die-hards are left with this, the final DVD compilation of the series. The good news is that if this is all the Deadwood there is ever going to be, the show goes out on a creative high point. The key is the arrival of million dollar man, George Hearst (Gerald McRaney in the performance of his life). With the camp largely settled and the feud between Sheriff Seth Bullock (BOP fave Timothy Olyphant) and shadowy casino owner Al Swearengen (Ian McShane) largely settled, the new settlement of Deadwood has reached a degree of daily equilibrium until Hearst arrives.

Intent to clean out the mines of every ounce of gold ("the color") the area possesses, Hearst sets out to buy or destroy anything that gets in his way. This causes Bullock and Swearengen to become unlikely allies as the town's residents form an alliance to wage war against the rich usurper. Over time, the conflict turns from a war of words between Hearst and Swearengen into a bloody series of encounters. First, Hearst's side claims a finger. Then, Swearengen's group claims an eye. Finally, Hearst slays one of the most popular residents of the town, knowing that there may be no retaliation.

He eventually demands a body as an act of submission from the locals, attempting to prove once and for all that despite a brief incarceration, George Hearst is above the law. How the relatively lawless town reacts when their semblance of order is undone by an outsider with the financial wherewithal to crush all opposition is what makes Deadwood: The Complete Third Season a masterful batch of television episodes. It's highly recommended viewing, making it the runaway choice for BOP DVD of the Week.



DVD releases for the week of June 12, 2007:

Against Time (2001)
Ashura (2005)
Blood and Chocolate (2007)
The Bow (2006)
Breach (Full Frame) (2007)
Breach (Widescreen) (2007)
The Bridge (2006)
The Clown Murders (1975)
Criminal Law (1989)
Daddy's Little Girls (2007)
Days of Glory (2006)
Deadwood: The Complete Third Season (4-DVD Set) (2006)
Diagnosis Murder: The Second Season (6-DVD Set) (1994)
DishDogz (2005)
Glastonbury (2006)
Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams (2006)
Hellboy Animated: Blood & Iron (2007)
Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise (2006)
Jesse Stone: Night Passage (2006)
Late Ozu (5-DVD Set)
MÄR: Gateway to MÄR (Vol. 1) (2003)
Masters of Horror: The Screwfly Solution (2006)
The Practice: Volume One (4-DVD Set) (1997)
Pretty Cool Too (2006)
Primeval (2007)
Raining Stones (1993)
The Two of Us (Criterion Collection) (1968)
An Unreasonable Man (2007)
Waiting for Happiness (2002)
Walker, Texas Ranger: The Third Season (7-DVD Set) (1995)
A Wedding (1978)
Welcome Back, Kotter: The Complete First Season (4-DVD Set) (1975)
Zzyzx (2005)

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